45)
Nairobi for beginners:
Welcome
to Nairobi!
Buy
an AtoZ map book of Nairobi, buy a local SIM card from Nakumatt
to help with any breakdowns etc. Also bring compass that works
inside a car. Go to a chemist back home and buy a safe needle
kit. Look up the Kenyan Flying doctor service on the internet
and buy temporary membership of Kenyan Flying Doctor evacuation
service for the period you are out in Kenya. Join the Kenyan
Automobile Association breakdown service for additional protection.
The
first weeks here are not always easy, but many people think
it is a wonderful place to live. Here
are some of the bureaucratic hurdles you have to
overcome - and tips from people who were successful. Primarily
this is for foriegn journalists, however most work permits follow
a similar procedure.
46)
Ethiopia for beginners:
We
got a visa at the embassy in Nairobi, which required international
drivers license and either carnet
or log book (we were able to use our Kenyan
log book, but needed to leave the original at the border).
We
then drove from Nairobi to Isiolo on the first
day. Isiolo to Marsabit on the second day,
and Marsabit to Moyale on the third day. Reasonably
long days (dawn till dusk), really crap roads, very corrugated,
etc. Got really badly bogged in a sandy flow (up to the door
handles!) in Moyale town, just 10 meters from the gates of the
KWA. Half the town turned out to watch/help.
Border crossing was pretty routine, the eithiopians were reasonably
officious, including attempting to check that the engine numbers
matched, but really no trouble.
They
give you a temporary import permit that got
checked at few checkpoints as we moved north.
47)
Namibia Self Drive- Trip report- Observations and tips
Driving:
Driving is not as hard as it might initially sound especially
if you stay on the main routes and take it easy with speed.
However a 4x4 is certainly recommended. Its sturdier, you got
less chance to get flat tires (I had none) and there are a few
places that you can’t do without (like the route D1930
from Spitzkope to UIS where the sandy riverbed was not passable
by 2x4). The roads are well maintained, thoroughly signposted
and accurate maps are commonly available.
Car
Hire Company : Advanced Car Hire:
Positive experience. The pick us up from the airport and returned
us there even though we had returned the car two days prior
to our flight. Their service was good and straightforward. Did
not have any emergencies or breakdowns to see how they would
cope but they promise to cover any breakdown in 24 hours. Their
full insurance was the most extensive I found on the market
(covered everything including glass and tyre but excluding under
car damage and clutch damage).They even agreed to modify the
number of booked days due to a last minute change in our plans.
My only concern was that the car was not new (reg 2005). Although
the car itself coped very well on the road, the tent and the
camping gear showed signs of degradation.
Travel
Agency: The Cardboard Box
I contacted them in order to arrange accommodation for us especially
with NWR which I found very difficult to reach. They did a great
job booking all accommodation in the busy and popular places
(Sesriem campsite, Ethosa campsites) and costing us nothing
(the prices they charged where exactly the same we would have
booked ourselves and they charged no commission). They even
prepared a small package with an excellent information booklet,
a road map of Namibia and our booking vouchers and send it to
the hotel we spend the first night. Fast to respond and reliable.
They seem to know what they are doing. Highly recommended.
Hotels
and Campsites
Rivendell, Windhoek: Excellent. Felt more like a home rather
than a hotel. Safety can be a concern outside the hotel. According
to a taxi driver lots of tourists have been targeted in the
past close to this hotel. Apparently the problem is now “solved”
with increased police patrols.
Naukluft Campsite: Nice and not crowded.
Sesriem Campsite: Really expensive but definitely one of the
best we stayed
Hotel Pension Rapmund-Swakopmund: Excellent little hotel
Spitzkoppe Community campsite: Absolutely recommended. Not really
a campsite (come prepared) but the location is stunning and
the locals are friendly
Aba Huab Campsite: Nice campsite- friendly people
Palwag Campiste: along with Sossusvlei and Waterberg the best
campsites we stayed. The staff was excellent.
Okaukuejo: Avoid campsites 4 and 5. They got no shadow! We got
allocated no 4 and got roasted during the day. The waterhole
is crowded with people but also crowded with animals. The elephants
provided a guaranteed show both days. Rhinos were also punctual
to the rendez vous both nights around 8 pm. Even though I found
it to be the worst camp in Etosha its waterhole is amazing.
Halali: the LP guide says its waterhole is the best viewing
venue on the park. We might have been unlucky but in 3 x 1 hour
visits (2 day + 1 night) we show 2 impalas and one elephant
in total
Namutomi: the waterhole is void of animals save for the frogs
and the various birds. The campsite is probably the best in
the park.
Waterberg: Great place and campsite.
Animal
Viewing:
During the dry period there are tons of animals in Etosha and
its very easy to spot them. Predators on the other hand are
quite tricky. We marveled at a pack of lions in Etosha but somehow
felt this was a very lucky incident. Cheetahs are like searching
for a pin in a haystack.
I strongly recommend one of the guided hikes in Palmwag. You
see fewer animals than the driving tours but the feeling of
been there on foot is unbeatable.
Safety:
Outside cities I never felt any kind of concern regarding our
safety. We didn’t stay long enough inside towns to have
a definite view but got a bad vibe in general. Seems like hire
car with roof tents are a magnet for all kinds of strange people.
Got the same situation in Otjo, Okinjima and Odjiwarongo. A
pleasant exception was Tsumeb which felt surprisingly relaxed.
Weirdest encounter: We were once flagged down by a teenager
a few km outside . He asked for some water and then he asked
me “if I can step out of the vehicle”(!!!).No wonder
I left immediately but I am still wondering what would be the
alternative ending of this incident (there was noone else evidently
around)…
48)West
Africa for beginners (the situation in Senegal may
have changed recently):
The
difference between Ghana and Senegal is huge. Senegal no longer
allows vehicles in (permanently) which are more than 5 years
old, and what it DOES allow in, they charge a 100% duty on,
unless you already have paid the right people to have a Senegalese
corporation to avoid the taxes. Bringing a vehicle in through
the Gambia and paying a Coronet to allow use in the WA countries,
this would be smarter. Vehicles already in WA are often badly
beat already, from the roads, etc., Vehicles in Senegal are
way overpriced, owing to the taxes, etc. Even Guinea Conakry
might be a better port to import, and that place is about as
corrupt as anywhere in the world.
There's
one guy I know, Mamadou Sy... I'll have to find his phone number,
assuming it hasn't changed. He has some sort of deal selling
Americans' SUVs on a car lot he owns. If you can't be persuaded
to buy a car in the States and ship it in, then that's the only
other idea I have. What's bought in WA stays in WA, btw. Europe
won't accept WA country's paperwork as legit ownership, so you
can't bring them back out of Africa once they've been registered
in Africa.
49)
Tom
and Jana's
experience of crossing the SA/Botswana border in a rental car
Yom
and Jana: Approaching
the border at Martin's Drift
Here
is the Groblersbrug/Martin's Drift border procedure, as best
I recall:
-
On the South Africa side (Groblersbrug/Grobler's Bridge), park
your vehicle and go to the main building in the middle of the
parking lot.
-
Go to the customs window first. They'll want to see your Letter
of Authority from the rental place and certificate of registration.
Get a gate pass.
-
Go to the immigration window. They'll stamp your passport and
your gate pass.
-
Get back in your car and drive on.
-
Another officer will stop you and take your gate pass. He also
opened our hood and looked at the certificate of registration's
chassis number and checked under our hood, I guess looking for
chopped car parts.
-
You are now leaving South Africa.
-
On the Botswana side (Martin's Drift), park your vehicle and
enter the main building, which looks like an elementary school.
-
Get some condoms. They are free at Botswana border crossings
and national park entrances. (One in four adult citizens of
Botswana is infected with HIV.) Supposedly, the free-condom
packages used to be decorated with the Botswana flag, but they
were just plain and boring when we got ours.
-
Go to the immigration window first. They'll give you a form.
Fill it out and go back to the window. They'll stamp your passport
and have the driver sign a vehicle register book found on the
counter. The officer will ask for the vehicle registration number,
write it on a gate pass and stamp it. Take this with you.
-
If you've nothing to declare, the passenger is done and can
wait for the driver outside. (I stayed with Tom, but I saw some
other passengers get kicked out.)
-
Get customs to stamp your gate pass.
-
The driver goes to the cashier's window, just past customs.
This is where you pay a tax to get a road permit for the vehicle.
We could not buy pula, Botswana's currency, before crossing
the border, yet Botswana asks for the road tax in pula. They
allowed us to pay in rand. It was 60 pula or 80 rand. They will
give you a "Department of Customs and Excise Official Receipt."
-
I've read elsewhere about the necessity of buying a road disc
for your vehicle from the cashier. This is no longer done.
-
We asked the cashier about getting a double-entry permit since
we'd be leaving Botswana in a few days to go to Zambia and then
returning, but she wouldn't do it and said we had to pay each
time.
-
Get back in your vehicle and proceed to the gate. The officer
will take the gate pass and look at the road permit. Get the
road permit back. That is yours to keep as a nice souvenir.
-
Welcome to Botswana!
And
back again...
At
9:30 we stopped at the filling station in Sherwood, where we
topped off with gas and had a burger and fries at a fast-food
restaurant called Barcelos connected to the gas station, using
up the rest of our pula.
By
this point I was a border paperwork pro. The procedure to cross
from Botswana to South Africa at Martin's Drift/Groblersbrug
is as follows:
-
On the Botswana side, park at the main building, which looks
like an elementary school.
-
Go inside to the customs window. The driver signs a book and
gets a gate pass.
-
Go next to the immigration window. They'll give you a form to
fill out. Fill out the form, return to the window, and they'll
stamp both your passport and the gate pass.
-
Get back in your vehicle and proceed to the gate, where they
will collect your gate pass and let you through.
-
On the South Africa side, park your vehicle and walk up to the
main building in the middle of the parking lot.
-
Go first to the immigration window, where they'll stamp your
passport and give you a gate pass.
-
Next go to the customs window, where they'll stamp the gate
pass.
-
Return to your vehicle and proceed to the gate, where they will
collect your gate pass, hopefully not notice your missing taillight,
and let you through.
Yeah,
we were worried about crossing back into South Africa with our
missing taillight. If we were going to get hassled about it
anywhere, this was gonna be it. We hoped since the truck was
registered in South Africa, they'd let us in anyway. Our worries
were for nothing. Thankfully, no one noticed. What a relief!
At 10:30 we were back in South Africa and driving like mad again.
50)
Tom
and Jana's
experience of the Kazungula Ferry:
On
the Zambian side of the river, all was a mass of confusion.
There is no real parking area, and you just have to abandon
your vehicle wherever it will fit while you visit the ill-marked
jumble of bureaucratic buildings to get your paperwork in order
and pay the various required fees. Columbus and one of his friends
guided Tom and me through the maze of administration. Sometimes
we were together, and at other times we separated to save time
in visiting all the different offices. They got us through in
about 30 minutes what would have otherwise taken us most of
the day and caused endless frustration.
Here,
in as excruciating of detail as I can muster, are the steps
necessary to cross from Botswana to Zambia at Kazungula with
a vehicle:
-
On approaching the border on the Botswana side, bypass the huge
line of trucks, park, and proceed to immigration. Fill in the
forms supplied. The immigration officer will stamp your passport
and give you a gate pass.
-
At customs, the driver is to sign a book, and the officer will
put an additional stamp on the gate pass.
-
With the gate pass, get back in your vehicle and proceed. Give
the gate pass to the officer at the gate. He will keep it. You
have now officially left Botswana and are in no-man's-land until
you fulfill all the requirements on the other side of the border.
-
Squeeze your way around more trucks and pedestrians until you
reach the river. If there are other cars there waiting to board,
get close behind them, but be sure they're actually waiting
to board the ferry and not just there waiting to pick up foot
passengers. If there are no other cars waiting to board, position
your vehicle as closely as possible to the landing, leaving
barely enough room for the vehicles on the ferry to exit.
-
When the incoming ferry has emptied, drive on board. There won't
necessarily be anyone to tell you to proceed, but if they aren't
ready for you, presumably, they'll stop you. One car, or possibly
two cars side by side, will drive on, then a cargo truck, then
possibly one or two more cars. Car passengers must get out and
board by foot; only the driver is permitted in the vehicle when
loading onto the ferry.
-
Once on board, the driver exits the vehicle and signs a book.
Then you make the grand voyage of 400 meters across the river
before getting back in the vehicle.
-
On the Zambia side, any vehicle passengers exit on foot. The
driver gets back in the vehicle, drives off, and parks anywhere
he can, trying to leave room for others to get by, if possible.
This is pretty tricky, and Tom had to leave immigration once
and go move the 4x4 to let a cargo truck by.
-
Go first to immigration, where you get your passport stamped
and pay for a visa. If you are going only as far as Livingstone
to see Victoria Falls, it's possible to get your visa fee waived
if you make reservations at a lodge in advance. The lodge must
arrange the visa waiver for you. I told the immigration officer
we were staying at Maramba Lodge in Livingstone and should have
a visa waiver, and he checked a "Maramba Lodge" three-ring
binder and found the proper documents, so we got in free. Otherwise,
as Americans, it would have cost $100 each to enter Zambia.
Sheesh.
-
Fill out a CIP (Customs Import Permit) at customs, which is
in the same little building as immigration, at the next window.
Here you will have to show either ownership papers or, in our
case, a Letter of Authority from the rental company saying you
have permission to use the vehicle and cross into other countries
with it. Pay a "consul levy fee" of 10,000 kwacha
($2.50). (I actually paid them 10 pula, which seems like it
should have been 15 pula considering the exchange rate, but
that's what they asked for when I proposed paying in pula.)
I believe this fee was paid at the customs window, but I'm not
certain. Get a receipt.
-
In a different building pay for the ferry. The pontoon ferry
payment office is reasonably well marked. It was $20 for our
vehicle, a Nissan hardbody pickup truck. Tom did this while
I was paying the carbon tax. Get a receipt.
-
In yet another building, at a somewhat hidden window, pay the
carbon tax (Thanks, Al Gore) for your vehicle. The fee is by
engine volume. I guessed 3 liter (turns out it was only a tiny
2.3 liter, but it's the same price either way). The fee was
150,000 kwacha ($38, but they wanted kwacha). The officer didn't
ask for any paperwork to verify the engine size. Get a receipt.
-
Also, Zambia requires third-party motor vehicle insurance, conveniently
available for purchase right there at the border. A three-month
policy is the minimum available, and we paid 225,000 kwacha
($56, but they wanted kwacha). This "office" was in
a shipping container with a spray-painted sign on the side.
They need the registration number and chassis number off your
paperwork from the rental company or your ownership papers.
They gave us a one-page certificate of insurance. There were
other shipping-container-based third-party insurance offices
as well, so maybe you can shop around and get a better deal.
-
Columbus had fronted us the kwacha to pay the carbon tax, so
we had to pay him back 150,000 kwacha, plus we needed 225,000
kwacha for the insurance. The currency exchange office at the
border was closed, perhaps because it was Saturday, so we had
to do a black-market exchange right there in the third-party
insurance office. In Livingstone they were giving 4,000 kwacha
per $1, but here where we were captive customers, we got only
3,500 kwacha per $1, so the 375,000 kwacha cost us $107. At
this point I gave Columbus 30 pula, though he'd asked for only
20 pula. Money well spent.
-
All that having been done, in a little phone-booth-sized building
next to the officer at the exit gate, I signed a book and filled
in vehicle information again, then got back in the 4x4 with
Tom, who had pulled up to the gate. Columbus's friend spoke
to the officer, and he waved us on through without asking us
any questions or looking at any of the multitude of certificates,
receipts, and various bits of papers we'd collected.
-
This is the end of the border crossing. We made it. Yippee!
It cost us $130 in total to cross into Zambia with our vehicle.
The four fees were the ferry, consul levy fee, carbon tax, and
third-party insurance.
And
going back again...
The
passage back across the border at Kazungula was much easier
traveling this direction, especially since we halfway knew what
we were doing this time. The procedure is as follows:
-
On the Zambia side, park wherever you can, giving some uninvited
volunteer a small tip, if you must, to watch your vehicle.
-
Go into the pontoon ferry payment office and pay for ferry passage.
It was $20 for our Nissan hardbody pickup truck.
-
Proceed to immigration, located in a different building, sign
the book, and get your passport stamped.
-
Proceed to customs and get a gate pass.
-
Get back in your vehicle and drive up to the gate, hand over
the gate pass which they will keep.
-
Bypass the line of trucks and pull up to the ferry landing and
wait.
A
drunk and/or crazy guy tried to "help" us with ferry
boarding. At first we gave him some of our paperwork, thinking
he was some sort of official. He was not. At least he gave our
paperwork back!
-
Unlike when we crossed two days ago, this time when the ferry
arrived, an official worker directed the vehicles on board.
Two pickups drove on side by side, then a big cargo truck, then
they managed to squeeze another pickup onboard, and then us.
Our truck was precariously perched, but it worked.
-
The passenger gets out of the vehicle before the driver loads
the truck and boards the ferry with the other foot passengers.
-
On board the ferry, the driver must show the receipt where ferry
passage has been paid and sign the register.
-
On the Botswana side, after the 400-meter ferry crossing is
made, the driver unloads the vehicle, and the passenger walks
off.
-
Park wherever.
-
Proceed to immigration, fill out their form, and get your passport
stamped. They will give you a gate pass.
-
Get customs to stamp your gate pass.
-
The driver then goes to the cashier's window, just past customs.
Here you pay a tax to get a road permit for the vehicle, 50
pula. We had to pay again even though we'd just paid when entering
Botswana nine days before. You get a nice looking, very official
permit, and I think they stamped the gate pass here also.
-
Get back in your vehicle and proceed to the exit, where an officer
will collect your gate pass.
-
Drive through the dirty pool of disinfectant on your way out.
This is a hoof-and-mouth disease control measure. Also, if they
feel like it, officials will confiscate your meat and possibly
dairy products for the same reason. No one questioned us about
any meat, and we went on our way.
It
was nice to be back in the seeming innocence of Botswana after
the rat race of Zim/Zam. As soon as we left Kazungula, a baboon
ran across the highway right in front of us. It was like coming
home again!
Go well,
